Pinoy kids fixated on YouTube, TikTok, Messenger - study

Filipino children are extremely interested in video content right now and most of them spend time on YouTube (26.46 percent), TikTok (16.75 percent), Messenger (16.07 percent), the multiplayer game Roblox which allows users to play games they have created as well as games from other users, (13.67 percent) and Facebook (9.11 percent).

Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky revealed these findings Wednesday (May 18) after reviewing anonymized data, such as search queries, the most popular Android applications and website categories provided voluntarily by Kaspersky Safe Kids users between January to March 2022.

Kaspersky Safe Kids is a module in select Kaspersky products and is also a standalone multi-platform solution that is used by parents to protect children from undesirable content.

The solution allows the cybersecurity firm to collect anonymous statistics about children’s online activities for which filtering is suggested.

The search activity of children was the best indicator of their interests and parents can better understand their kids' current favorite subjects and passions, according to the company.

Every year, data gathered from Kaspersky Safe Kids is analyzed to find out the interests of the children and how they are adapting in the digital world.

The rest of the favorite apps of Filipino kids for the first quarter of the year include the Chrome browser (6.39 percent), YouTube Kids (3.54 percent), Netflix (3.08 percent), the first-person shooter game Call of Duty (2.56 percent), and the mobile online battle arena (MOBA) game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (2.37 percent).

"As one of the world's most active digital citizens, it is no surprise that Filipino children are enthusiastic explorers of the digital world themselves," observed Sandra Lee, Kaspersky Managing Director for Asia Pacific.

Because they have not physically gone back to school since the pandemic, majority of these kids are relying on the Internet, not just for study but also for play and entertainment, most likely because of "remote learning blues", she explained.

"We encourage parents to stay informed and commit to sitting down with their kids extensively as it's an effective way to keep their children responsible and safe digital citizens," Lee admonished.

Globally, YouTube still ranked first, preferred by 31.6 percent of children, followed by TikTok at 19 percent, WhatsApp at 18 percent, Roblox at 7.5 percent and Chrome, 7.3 percent.

Roblox's closest competitor, Brawl Stars, lost a little in popularity and took only 4.8 percent.

Interestingly, YouTube Kids, a special app for children, is not very popular, with a share of just 2.1 percent. (Emmie V. Abadilla)